I have always really loved layering things in my work, so collage has been something that I return to frequently. As you will see or have seen, the scope of my practice is very wide and collage allows me to work with many of my favorite tools. I enjoy most how I can work with both precise technology and also with my fingers covered with glue.
Venus
This piece was made in the spring to 2011. I started with an image from an anatomy book which was clearly posed like Botticelli's Venus. I then got a high-quality version of Botticelli's Venus and proceeded to mix the two women together. In addition to the two inkjet prints I added some pages from an aging book, a transparency with veins, and I gold leafed some highlights on the dropping flowers.
This moment where the hand of Venus penetrates into the throat of the anatomical drawing was crucial to me; it is a metonymy for what the entire piece is working to achieve.
After Venus
After having cut out only the hand and arm from my print of Venus I decided that it would be silly just to throw the rest away. With the remnants from the print outs for the presious collage I made this one. It engages with the same crossover between body and text, presence absence as well as female sexuality. Although I am admitting that this piece started as an after-thought, I feel now that it is a piece in its own right.
